The attention of a tiger: a good thing?

People young and old at the Rattlesnake Festival just wanted Ty the tiger to look up.

By ERIN SULLIVAN, Times Staff Writer
Published October 23, 2007

SAN ANTONIO - Two boys, one short, one tall, both pale and skinny, leaned up against a fence and stared at a Siberian tiger in a cage, just a few feet away. There were three cages total - the next one housed Sissy, a black bear, and the last one had L.B. Little Boy, a big cougar. The tiger's name was Ty. They were brought there this weekend, to the San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival, by the nonprofit Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation.

They were there to educate people.

"Okay, bear vs. the lion," the short boy said Saturday afternoon, motioning toward the tiger who kept bathing himself, showing no offense at being called the wrong name.

"Who would win?"

"I don't know," the tall boy said, mopping sweat off his face. "Lion?"

"Yeah, lion," the short boy said. "Definitely."

Then their eyes caught the tiger skull on display. Again, for education. "I wonder how much this costs?" the short boy whispered.

"A lot, I bet," the tall boy said.

"Let's steal it," the short boy said.

"Yeah," the tall boy said. "We could sell it on eBay."

But after a few moments, eyes fingering the skull, the boys moved on. The line of people wanting to glimpse the animals didn't appreciate loitering.

"Hey, Tiger!" a boy, about 4 years old, shouted at Ty. He adjusted his glasses and tried again. "Tiger!"

Ty didn't look up.

"That is a big head," a woman said in an inhale.

"Hey, kitty, kitty," an elderly man said to Ty.

"Hey, kitty, kitty," a young woman said to Ty.

In a span of a few minutes, most people also said this to Ty. There seems to be some innate urge in all of us to want to connect with an animal. It's not good enough to just look. We want it to look back.

"Look at his big old teeth," a man said to his toddler daughter. He held her in his arms, up against the fence.

Ty looked up and licked his lips.

"See that?" the man said. "He's licking his mouth because he sees your big old legs and he wants to eat them."

The girl whimpered.

"Oh, no, no," the man said. "I'm just kidding."

And he moved swiftly away.

Erin Sullivan can be reached at esullivan@sptimes.com or (813) 909-4609.

[Last modified October 22, 2007, 20:48:12]